India vs Pakistan, 4th Match, Pool B.

Score after 37 Overs – Ind – 200/2

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Feb 14, 2015 to Mar 29, 2015

Cricket’s biggest prize is here. Yes! It’s time for the ICC Cricket World Cup – one of the most widely followed global sporting events. The 11th edition of the quadrennial tournament will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. This is the second time that the World Cup is staged in Trans-Tasman territory since 1992. New Zealand and Sri Lanka will kick-off the 44-day tournament at Christchurch on February 14. After 48 matches, two of the best teams of the multi-nation event will lock horns in Melbourne on March 29 for the coveted title.How was the ODI format born? Rain washed off the first three days of the third Ashes Test match between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The officials then decided to abandon the match and instead agreed to play a 40 eight-ball-overs per side match on the last day of the Test match and thus the One-Day International format was born on January 5, 1971.Although the birth of Twenty20 cricket has diminished the image of One-Day International (ODI) cricket of late, the World Cup is still one of the most-awaited tournaments for an avid cricket fan.How did the idea of a Cricket World Cup evolve? Limited-overs cricket began to gain popularity in the early 1960s when a number of English counties showed interest to adopt the shortened version of the game, that ended in a day. Spectators welcomed the one-day format and soon many organisations started to stage a number of tournaments. The International Cricket Conference, cricket’s governing body then, took note of one-day cricket’s growing reputation and came up with the idea of staging a Cricket World Cup and announced that England would host the first-ever Cricket World Cup in 1975.Since its inception, the World Cup has produced many memorable moments and this time too it promises to be a humdinger.World Cup Winners 1975 – West Indies 1979 – West Indies 1983 – India 1987 – Australia 1992 – Pakistan 1996 – Sri Lanka 1999 – Australia 2003 – Australia 2007 – Australia 2011 – IndiaWhy is the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand? In 2006, Australia and New Zealand placed their bids to ICC’s executive committee, after expressing their willingness to host the 2011 World Cup. However, Asia (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) was awarded the tournament after winning by a margin of 7 votes to 4. The ICC then announced that the next edition (2015) would be awarded to Australia and New Zealand.How different is the tournament to the 2011 edition? Interestingly, after initially announcing that the World Cup would be shared if the final ends in a tie, the ICC reverted back to the 2011 protocol of using a One-Over Eliminator (Super Over) to split the teams in case of a tie. However, unlike the 2011 edition, if a game ended in a tie during the quarter-finals and the semi-finals stages, the side finishing higher in the group stage will progress to the next round. Four years ago, if a game ended in a tie at any stage in the knockout phase, Super Over was used to decide the winner.

TV viewers will be able to hear the conversation between the on-field umpire and the third umpire whenever the Decision Review System (DRS) is employed. It is the latest addition to the DRS by the ICC to give more transparency into decision making and will help viewers know the different aspects taken into consideration while making a decision.

Only 15 overs of field restrictions will apply, which is five overs lesser than the 2011 World Cup. However, this time, only four fielders will be allowed outside the circle during non-powerplay overs, which is one lesser than the previous edition.

Four years ago, there was a mandatory ball change after 34 overs of an innings. However, the ICC has scraped the idea now and has announced that two new balls, one from each end, will be used during an innings.

The ICC has increased the prize money by 20% from the previous edition. The winners prize money has been set as USD 3,975,000. If the team remains unbeaten in the group stage, the prize money would be added by USD 45,000, meaning that the total amount would be USD 4,245,000.

While the number of participants (14) remains the same as the previous World Cup, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and Scotland will replace Canada, Kenya and Netherlands from the 2011 World Cup.

Format 14 teams, spilt into two pools of seven each, will play 42 games in the group stage, with each team playing each other once in their respective pools. The top four teams from each pool will make it to the quarter-finals, from which four teams will be filtered to form the semi-finals line-up. Two winners will then qualify for the final.

Participants The 10 full members of the ICC qualify automatically, while the top two teams of the 2011-13 World Cricket League (Ireland, Afghanistan) and the finalists of the 2014 World Cup Qualifier (Scotland, United Arab Emirates) form the 14-member contention.

Pool A

Pool B

England

South Africa

Australia

India

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Bangladesh

West Indies

New Zealand

Zimbabwe

Afghanistan

Ireland

Scotland

United Arab Emirates

How the top 10 teams were pooled? It was according to the ICC ODI Championship rankings, as of 31 December 2012, that the top 10 full member nations were pooled into two groups. The team that was ranked 1 (England) and 4 (Australia) went into Pool A, while teams 2 (South Africa) and 3 (India) went into Pool B. Teams 5 (Sri Lanka) and 8 (Bangladesh) were grouped in Pool A and teams 6 (Pakistan) and 7 (West Indies) in Pool B. Teams 9 (New Zealand) and 10 (Zimbabwe) joined Pool A and Pool B respectively.

Did you know? After the 2011 World Cup, the ICC announced that the 2015 World Cup would be contested only among the 10 full member nations. This meant that the associate nations would not be eligible to participate and it drew heavy criticism, especially from Ireland, who fared decently in 2007 and 2011. The ICC then reverted back to the 14-team format followed for the 2011 World Cup.

Venues Totally, 14 grounds, 7 each from Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney) and New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington) will host the World Cup. The final will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Out of the 49 matches, 26 will be hosted by Australia.

Who are the favourites?India – Despite the absence of their key players from the 2011 World Cup squad, the defending champions have managed to piece together a formidable unit. Virat Kohli has grown in stature since the last edition of the World Cup and is breaking many records. Captain MS Dhoni has been as cool as ever and his role in the middle-order has been key to India’s success. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has proved the world that fast-bowling is not all about muscles. Mohammad Shami’s accuracy has earned him the highest wicket-taker tag in ODIs in 2014 and he plays a big role for the side with the ball. So overall, if the batting line-up clicks as a unit and the bowlers hold their nerve at the death, India are a tough side to beat on their day.

South Africa – Surely, if you have the names, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy, then you have one of the strongest batting line-ups, if not the strongest, in the entire tournament. Moving focus to the bowling department, Dale Steyn spearheads the attack, while Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander form an integral part. Boy! This has to be the strongest team on paper. Give them the Cup! Oh hang on! Time and time again, the Proteas bring a strong unit to World Cups, but…..

Australia – Home conditions give Australia a big chance to lift their fifth title. Although George Bailey has showed that he’s a good enough leader, a fully-fit Michael Clarke would be vital to Australia’s success. While David Warner’s presence at the top-order comes as a plus, Shane Watson’s role as an all-rounder is pivotal to the side. Glenn Maxwell has earned himself a reputation of being a game-changer, irrespective of the match situation. Mitchell Johnson’s thunderbolts would be a batsman’s nightmare on those bouncy and pacy pitches. All this forces one to rate the co-hosts highly.